Tim Cahill won’t be playing Spain after picking up a ban.Source:Getty Images

I reckon most people would – like me – fall into the latter camp. That’s why we should be applauding Ange Postecoglou’s brave new world – for it is vindication that his youth policy is the right path.

True enough, the Soccerroos – as predicted – have a big fat zero in the points column after two games, and are heading for an early flight home. But to say that is only part of the story is an understatement.

For Australia have made a statement – a big one – at this World Cup. They had Chile on the ropes in Cuiaba, and Holland on the rack in Porto Alegre. The world now has a new-found respect for football in this part of the world.

For that, we can thank Ange Postecoglou. In the job less than a year, he undertook the regeneration that his predecessors were too timid – or too untrusting – to take. He did it boldly, and with a mixture of wannabes, could-bes and (if we’re honest), don’t knows.

Who knew that Mathew Leckie was about to reveal some of the vast potential we first saw marauding down touchlines at Hindmarsh? Who could have foreseen that Jason Davidson would effortlessly answer the years-old conundrum of who should play at left-back? And who truly believed Matthew Spiranovic would – finally – come of age as the classy central defender we all prayed he could be?

Mark Bresciano caused the Dutch defence plenty of problems.Source:AFP

Ange Postecoglou, that’s who.

Some were sharpening the knives after the South Africa friendly in Sydney – quick to lambast the lack of second half fluency, and the defensive vulnerability that allowed Bafana Bafana to steal a draw.

But the signs were there in the first half that night. Even on a poor pitch, Australia played at a quick tempo, constantly looking to drive forward and put the opposition on the back foot. The fact that an intense training scheduled left their legs heavy in the second half seemed to pass some people by.

In Brazil, Australia have played with a swagger and a verve that has made the world sit up and take notice. A modern brand of football that hasn’t looked out of place in the “group of death” – and has caught everyone by surprise, particularly the Dutch who very nearly paid the price for a major attack of pre-game over-confidence.

Postecoglou did that – and he did it without two of his best players, Robbie Kruse and Rhys Williams.

He did it after losing his first-choice right-back, Ivan Franjic, and having to play without one of his more experienced midfielders, Mark Milligan against the Dutch.

All of a sudden, the future looks much brighter, and the game in this country (which still needs a vibrant national team to lead the way) is all the better for it.

The next generation have shown what they really required was someone to believe in them, and steer them in the right direction. They’re willing to learn, and more than capable of implementing what their coach wants them to do.

The golden generation will forever be revered – and in Tim Cahill and Mark Bresciano, two of those old stagers have played key roles in Brazil.

But given Cahill’s ban and Bresciano’s injury problems, we could well have seen the last of them in World Cup finals action.

Their contribution has been immense, along with all the others.

But as Postecoglou has rightly recognised, it’s time for the future, and thank goodness he had the balls to do it.

Because even if he had stuck by the tried and trusted, the results would probably have been the same. The feeling this morning however, wouldn’t have been nearly as good.